Panic in Punctuation Land Reviewed By Conny Withay of Bookpleasures.com

Conny Withay

Reviewer Conny Withay:Operating her own business
in office management since 1991, Conny is an avid reader, volunteers
reading the Bible to the elderly, and makes handmade jewelry. A cum
laude graduate with a degree in art living in the Pacific Northwest,
she is married with two sons, two daughter-in-laws, and one
granddaughter.

“Hi,
I’m Mike, your Punctuation TV reporter. Reports are that all
writing could be in danger! The Period is unhappy. She was not at
breakfast this morning. Just minutes ago, I spoke to some of the
Punctuation Gang. Roll the tape!” Gordon Bushell writes in his
children’s book, Panic in Punctuation Land.

At
forty pages, this over-sized hardback targets young readers of early
elementary school age, focusing on the proper use of punctuation.
With the story about various colored punctuation marks, there is no
profanity or scary scenes. Illustrator Lucco’s bright, bold designs
are included on almost every page with black wording against white
backgrounds.

In
this silly but instructional tale, the Punctuation Gang is usually a
great, happy group of marks. However, the Comma complains of a bad
back, wishing it was straighter. Taught that all marks are important
in writing, it is noted the Period is missing.

After
a news report stating how important the Period is at the end of
almost every sentence, the Quotation Marks, Question Mark, and
Exclamation Mark are concerned. When the Period is found safe, she is
sad and distraught because she feels her appearance is boring, dull,
and without any pizzazz.

The
Quotations, Parentheses, Comma, Semicolon, and Colon try to tell the
Period how significant she is, but she insists on going to the
printer for a make-over. It is big news when the Period returns
completely changed, upsetting the Punctuation Gang.

As
the other marks fantasize what would happen if they also changed
their looks, the Period realizes the importance of her simplicity. In
the meantime, the Comma is too injured to help sentences, so another
mark in the gang helps until he is healed.

Although
silly to the core, the concept of each punctuation mark being vital
is not only a good lesson about proper writing, it emphasizes that we
humans are valuable as individuals too.

Bushell’s
simple but creative tome that explains the uses of most punctuation
marks is charming and educational as it teaches correct writing
skills. Both young and old writers will recall the book’s charm
next time they pick up a pencil to add a period or other punctuation
mark in a sentence.

Thanks
to Trimark Press and Bookpleasures for furnishing this book in
exchange for a review based on the reader’s honest opinion.